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Saturday, November 10, 2007

Mindy Smith

I remember a few years back, I heard a singer-songwriter named Mindy Smith appearing on some sort of a live performance radio show, and she was so good, I vowed to remember her name, so that I could check out her music. Well, I did remember her name, but I haven't become reacquainted with her until recently... Anyway, for any who aren't particularly familiar with her, I originally thought she was a Christian contemporary artist, though from what I read she has lived in Nashville and has done the country thing...however, I personally would refer to her as folk rock. She has a style all her own, kind of like John Denver did. For example, you wouldn't really categorize him as a country artist; you in fact would be more likely to categorize him as pop or rock, even though he had songs like "Country Roads"...he didn't seem to fit exclusively into one genre. Well, Mindy Smith is that good. She is unique and talented enough to be a style unto herself.

http://www.mindysmith.net/ provides the following biographical information: "One thing is clear: Mindy Smith knows who she is and what she wants. She’s struggled against adversity for most of her life -Adopted at birth by a minister and his wife, the music director of her husband’s church, Smith grew up in Smithtown, Long Island. Early on, she felt drawn to music. "I heard music in my head," she says. She found her biggest supporter in the woman who adopted her, Sharron Patricia McMahon Smith, who she has and will forever know as her mother. An outstanding singer, her mother sang in church as a soloist and as a choir leader. Even when other music teachers discouraged Smith, her mother told her she had a special talent and encouraged her to follow her interest in music."

Years later, Mindy moved to Nashville and made a name for herself. She avoided signing with the really huge record labels to assure that she could make exactly the kind of music she wanted, and write and sing her own songs as well. Some of her more notable performances was a cover version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and "Come to Jesus" which she wrote herself.